Hey! Darrel wanted to share this movie he made of some preliminary drawing that he has done for a new client. Check it out!

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I just started a new job, and yes it is in an office. Top secret stuff though, so can't say much about it. I think I will be improving the plant life inside of the building as soon as I get the feel for the place. The picture above is kind of like a first day of school picture, since I am in training for the next two months. The biggest thing that I have learned from my new work experience is that girly shoes give you blisters, so don't walk 45 minutes to and from work in them (bring walking shoes!). I have since learned how the bus system works and have also been riding my bike from time to time. I am really enjoying not depending on a car, but it's nice to have one so we can get away to places like Godley head (pics below). See if you can spot the sheep in this one, I think that if you click on the picture it will be enlarged for you.


Godley Head is a penninsula that divides Taylors Mistake from Lyttelton Harbour (just to the South of Christchurch). There are a number of mountain bike tracks and walkways throughout the area. Truly intriguing are the concrete bunkers and narrow tunnels running down the hillside, constructed during the Second World War to secure the harbour against a potential attack.


These sheep were visiting the Christchurch Art Gallery in some nice woolen sweater. teehee

later skaters!

Day at the Beach
Darrel and I spent most of the day at the beach today, Taylors Mistake. It is just over the hill from the beach town of Sumner on the outskirts of Chch. It is called Taylors Mistake because the original surveyors thought it was an island. Not quite sure how they thought that, must a have been a foggy day. Supposedly the Taylors are still a well known Chch family. There is this thing here about "what ship you came to NZ on". I have yet to be asked which ship I came over on due to my accent, but I think it's one of the first questions some people ask you when you meet them. Well, some people, probably just the ones that can trace their lineage to the first four boats that landed in Christchurch.

It was great to take a dip in sea. I think it has been over 5 years since I was in the ocean. I lathered myself in sunblock and then soaked up the rays. (Hopefully only the good rays were getting through to my skin.) The beach sand has some iron in it, so it's hot on the feet!

We watched Paragliders hover on the updrafts on the hills surrounding the little bay of the beach we were at. We also watched our friend David's kids run about and get sand everywhere. It was pretty funny when they got hungry, because every bite of their crunchy snack was a bit crunchier due to the sand that covered their hands and faces. There was just no way to get it off!

Darrel and I went to Hanmer Springs for the long weekend and his birthday. Darrel had monday off from work due to Labour day. We left on Saturday night after I had a busy spring day at the Garden Centre. I think it was one of the busiest weekends of the year. We grabbed fish and chips on the way out of town- you know you have to load up on grease and carbs when heading off on a kiwi vacation.

We started by heading North out of Chch. At this point Darrel still didn't know where we were going. His only clues were the mountain bikes in the back of the van and the camping gear. There are very few roads in New Zealand, and it became pretty obvious where we were heading after we turned Left, and headed away from the coast and into the mountains.

Unfortunately, the weather report did not sound so good for the weekend, and it became quite noticeable as the winds started to pick up and push the van around while driving. Luckily the 120 K winds never materialized.

We stayed at the Alpine Apartments Campground. My original plan had been to rent one of their Kitchen cabins, but I decided that camping would be more fun (and cheaper). The cabins are pretty cute and cozy, so if anyone wants to come and visit, we will have to rent one because they come with free mountian bikes! The overall experience was great, there were nice clean bathrooms, a kitchen, a bbq, picnic tables and worm composting!

On Sunday, the weather was a bit cold and drizzly, so we went to the hot springs to soak in the minerals of Hanmer (pronounced Hamner by everyone). It is a pretty big complex with 10 pools ranging from 35c to 41c. There are also waterslides for the kids. We started in the coolest pool and gradually worked our way up to the hottest ones.

Monday morning brought sunshine and a bit of warmth, so we headed off into the plantation forests to rip up the logging roads and mountain bike tracks. Here are some pics:

(There was supposed to be a snow capped mountian in the background of this picture, but you will just have to use your imagination.)

It is not the most beautiful setting, but definitley challenging climbs and steep downhills. I am glad that the tracks were in the plantation, I would hate to interfere with the native bush. I want to get a dog, but I would be so horrified if the dog ever disturbed any ground dwelling native birds. There are just so few of them, and their habitat is so precious.

It was great to get out of the city and into the woods. It made me miss being surrounded by trees in the treehouse. But, Christchurch has heaps of gardens and pockets of natural areas, and now that I have my weekends free we will have time to do more exploring of the national parks and reserves. (I have finished up at the Garden Centre and I am looking for new work, maybe something officey- who knows what I will find!)

Thanks to all those who have expressed concern over our confrontation two weeks ago. I have not seen the guys since, and I am feeling confident that we are pretty safe here.

Spring is in full swing, we had our first hot day the other day 27 celsius! I was pretty tired at the end of it. I was on the move all day stocking the bedding plants at the garden centre, and I am not used to the heat after experiencing two winters back to back. I hear that next weekend is our second busiest weekend of the year; it is Labour Weekend.

Darrel is enjoying his job working for a small architecture company right down town. His office is on a cute, cobble stone street with cafes, restaraunts, and beauty spas. His desk is right in front of the store front window. People are forever looking in on him and his coworkers. I think he has taken to making fish faces at them because he feels like he is in a fish bowl sometimes. Darrel is getting to know his boss, Darren, pretty well because his first project it to draught Darren's own house.

We went to see a really good kiwi reggae band the other night- Katchafire - it was really nice, they did a few Bob Marley covers along with their own stuff. It was fun to get out and dance. It kind of made me a bit homesick though. A crowd like that in Burlington would have been full of familiar faces to me. At least I know I am likely to find some good friends here.

I am currently planning a getaway for next weekend. Darrel and I both have Sunday and Monday off. I can't divulge any details though. It is a surprise for Darrel's birthday. I will fill you all in next week with some good pics.

These are some photos I took one morning at work. Every year a wild duck raises some ducklings in the Japanese garden at Oderings. It's a peaceful place even on the busiest of days at the Garden Centre (even if it's just a glance as I walk by).

Just thought I would share some good stuff. We have not had any more trouble with our neighbors, so we are feeling pretty safe right now, which is also due to the new deadbolt in the door! Most people we tell about the incident think that it was totally out of the ordinary for Christchurch, let's hope they are right.

Peace,
Josie

Well, Darrel and I had a bit of a scare last night. I am not sure if I should post this, because it's not such a good thing and I don't want anyone to worry about us, but I just have to write about it because it was just so weird.

Last night after work, Saturday night, Darrel and I went out for dinner- not the usual cheap thai food that we eat all the time, but a really nice meal at a Japanese place where you sit around the cook top and watch the chef clink his knives and flip the condiment bottles and light things on fire. We had scallops, mussels and a big plate of melt in your mouth sashimi. Then we wandered around and found a place called The Honey Pot, where we ordered cheese cake and white chocolate cake drizzled in some dark chocolate. (yes, we went from light and healthy to decadent in just an hour) Then we found the COOLEST video store on earth! Known as Alice in Videoland, it is over 20 years old, has funky flair including a weird mirrored passageway called "the looking glass", sections of foreign films from heaps of different countries and a large selection of NZ and Australian films (yes, the regular video stores here mainly stock hollywood films). This find is going to help us make it through NWS (Netflix Withdrawel Syndrome). We picked out a film called "He died with a Felafel in his hand" signed up for a lifetime membership (just $10) and bought a consessions card.

Then we wandered home, the city had been a buzz of activity, being Saturday night and all. And we were definitly feeling good after sushi and cheesecake. We walked out of the main part of the city towards our neighborhood. We were just about home, when we passed three very drunk men (who the police refered to as skinheads). One of then fake-kicked me as I was passing. it was like a round house kick- his foot contacted my stomach, but there was no force behind it. So naturally Darrel stood up for me, and we kept walking towards our house just two buildings away. But the drunkards had not satiated their violent tendencies for the night, so they kept calling out mean taunts to us because Darrel would not fight them. They saw where we lived and ran over and threw a beer can at the door, then one of them ran up and started kicking in our door!!!!!

I don't think I have ever been scared like that, I called 111 (like calling 911 in the states) but the guy had stopped kicking and had left us alone by the time I got the whole story out to the emergcy people. They said the police were too busy to come over right then since it wasn't an emergency anymore, but they would send someone over the next day. (thanks for caring christchurch police)

The stupid jerk busted the frame of our door (he didn't get in though), so we do have something we could charge him with, but no one saw which one actually did the damage. Some neighbors saw the whole thing, but they were too far away to tell. This guy named Hedgehog said that he was ready to grab a baseball bat and run over to help if the guy had actually gotten in. It was definitely reassurring to know that there are people around that would have helped out. Our closest neighbors (same building) came over to check us out right after the incident and our landlord brought us a bottle of wine today "to calm the nerves".

The guys are well known by the police and their neighbors for being dangerous and causing trouble. The police also said that they would do regular parols to the area. (I have heard that regular patrol thing before at the Intervale- not sure if it changed anything) I am sure they will get caught doing something stupid in time.

"What goes around, comes around"

The neighborhood we live in is not too bad, but this has definitely reafirmed our desire to buy our own house in a nice area very, very soon. I am going to call a mortgage broker tomorrow and start scouring the paper and internet for a good house to fix up. The banks seem to be willing to lend to just about anyone right now, so our chances are good.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end of this post and don't worry about us, we are fine and we have learned an important lesson-

Don't cross paths with drunken blokes!

I have changed my blog setup so anyone can leave comments! So- comment away because I definitely read them and it's good to know that someone out there reads this.

I also wanted to let everyone know that if you ever want to go back in time, just come on over for a vist and I'll take you to the ski fields- where the access roads are scarier than the skiing and the lifts are old school! I am talkin' Pomas, T-Bars and Nut Crackers!

Here are some pics I took around town the other day on a bike ride:

Hey there, just checking in. It's finally spring, again this year!

I enjoyed chatting with all of the Kenistons last weekend when I called the Camp (Songo Pond in Maine). Sounds like they have had "wicked" hot summer.

I thought I would fill you in on some of our projects, Darrel is making us some beside cabinets that just fit together without nails or screws. They are made out of the plywood box that our stuff was shipped over to NZ in.

Some of the plywood is pretty crappy so this picture is just a prototype out of the worst stuff, he is working on the final version right now, I can hear the jig saw wirring away in the backyard right now.




Here I am with my knitting project! It's a shawl thing, with arms, I will hold you in suspense as to the full design until it's
finsished. Not much time to knit these days! Without a TV, I just don't pick up my knitting as much. I have also been starting veggie seeds, which reminds me, I need to bring them in for the night! So far I have started: onions, peas, silver beet (chard for the americans out there), lettuces and parsley.








This is the Avon River, it runs right through the City, one of many urban streams. Its not uncommon to see rowers and kayakers and even canal boats, complete with the pole for pushing! There is a bike path that follows the river all the way to the sea, we can jump on at the end of our road.

Later skater

Driving towards the Kahurangi National Forest on the South Island

The Mini Graveyard

At Makara with Odie and Joel (near Wellington on the North Island)

Joel, Odie and Darrel at Makara

We have finally found a home, Darrel and I signed 6 month lease on a 1 bedroom flat. We have been shopping for furniture and setting up house. We have also been looking for work, and as is his style, Darrel has gotten the first job he applied for.

Here is a summary of our trip to Christchurch:
We have crossed the Cook Strait (Wellington to Picton), smooth sailing from island to island. I was pretty worried about getting seasick. The day we flew in to Wellington had been a bumpy ride and the newspaper showed the Interislander ferry was tipping on its side in the massive waves that rocked through the passageway. But our voyage was beautiful calm and sunny! No dolphins though. I have been told that some day I will have my own nz dolphin story. Supposedly they are quite common, for now I will continue to relive the time a fellow traveler rented a kayak in the Milford sound and had them swimming along with her as she traveled through the fjords. The ferry docks in Picton on the South Island, we took the Queen Charlotte Sound Road to Nelson. It wove around the edge of the sound, we took it pretty slow, there were a few small slips here and there (gravel in the road). It was just so dazzling it was hard to fly past it all.

That night we attempted a roadside camp in the van, we ended up driving to campground in Nelson for reasons that I can’t reveal. Nelson is a beautiful place, I think it gets the most sunny days out of all regions of NZ. As I was told yesterday, “it’s easy to live life there, your whole life could just pass you by”.

After leaving Nelson, we traveled through the Kahurangi National forest down the center of the south island. There was a sign at the beginning of the drive warning that there were no service stations for the next 100 K and they were right, sheep, cows, plantation forests and native bush were all that that could be seen, with the odd house tucked in along the valley here and there. We followed the river valley, and the hills got bigger and bigger until their jagged peaks were snowcapped and the frost/snow line from the night before was well below treeline into the native bush.

We were heading for Muruia Hot Springs, so we pulled off into a rest area just north of it and found free camping signs. Thank you DOC! (DOC= Department of Conservation). In the morning we saw signs for a faultline fence, meaning we were sleeping directly on the fault and the fence in the meadow shows how much movement there has been since the fence was erected. We didn’t check it out though. The mist was pretty heavy, well you could call it rain, but the scenery was gorgeous.

At Muruia, we were greeted by the familiar smell of sulpher. There are four boulder lined pools, each of various temps- Bath tub temp, hot but not too hot, really hot and freezing cold. It was so nice, Darrel and lounged around in the “hot but not too hot pool”, the boulders create different seats for you to perch upon. We had just seen a few people, but mainly had the pool to ourselves. Near the end of our dip we were joined by two people, one from Sydney and the other from Christchurch- Jenny. After calling a UN session and trying to solve the world’s problems, we discovered that Jenny had a flat for rent in Christchurch.

So we exchanged contact details and headed for the plains of Canterbury. Feeling refreshed and relaxed, we followed the aqua-blue braided river out of the mountains towards the sea.

In Christchurch, we met up with Jaime and Melissa, and their two kids Kya and Azlan. We stayed at Melissa’s parent’s house where they were house-sitting. The house is on the hills South of the city, our first day in the city was snow/hail/rain. But the second day was clear and blue, and we were rewarded with an amazing view. Snowy peaks to the north and west, a wonderful playground to behold.

Darrel and I spent two full days driving around looking at apartments for rent, but none could really compare to what Jenny had to offer. And that is how we found our new home!

One of Darrel's hip hopity hats for sale


Josie at the Wind Farm


Josie, Joy and Brian at the Oakura Beach, South of New Plymouth

July 8th
Darrel and I set of on a new adventure yesterday!

We have spent the past two weeks looking for a vehicle and exploring other options for our trip to the South Island (where we plan on settling). We almost settled on a fire engine red station wagon, which would have done the job for the trip, but might not have suited our needs once we got to wherever it is we are going to settle. Then Darrel’s dad offered us a van that was about to be sold from their Plumbing Business. The plan is to sell it for them when we are done using it. It’s big enough to sleep in the back while we are tiki touring south and also big enough to pick up our shipment from the port when it arrives. The only catch is that we had to clean out the van. It was not pretty, but 6 hours later, we knew that at least the remaining dirt and grime was relatively clean.

So, yesterday we said goodbye to Joy and Brian and drove towards Palmerston North to visit with Craig, Trudy and Kelsey. About 45 minutes from our destination we hit a roadblock, heavy rains and tidal rivers make for flooding and closed roads. New Zealand really needs some riparian buffers!

We thought that we were stuck in Wanganui for the night so we treated ourselves to an amazing Thai dinner and a movie. (It seemed that most of the other stranded people had the same idea) While in the theatre we overheard that the road was now open to one lane and that cars where being allowed through. So we made a run for it, and rolled into P.N. late at night, just in time to watch a parade of boy racers exiting town.

Kiwi Definition #1 Boy Racer= Young person (usually male) who spends a lot of money on their car, fitting it out with loud exhaust systems, loud stereos and speakers, fancy rims, low rider kits, airbrush paint jobs and big stickers. Boy Racers are known for driving up and down the main street of their home towns for hours on end with no real purpose or destination.

Today, we have been playing with Kelsey (Darrel’s neice who is a lively 2 years old), visiting a wind farm and starting to pimp out the van with tinted windows (we are not envious of the boy racers, we are just trying to protect all of our possessions.)

The wind farm is located on a farm just South of the city. The towers dot the ridgeline, but are hardly visible on overcast or cloudy days. The closer we got the more awed I became. They are beautiful graceful towers. The clouds were low and heavy with moisture, the blades looked like they had streamers attached to them, but it was the condensation from the air streaming off. The cool part of the wind farm, is that they are farming electricity as well as cows and sheep. And what’s encouraging is that they are now powering 35,000 homes and are just about to double their capacity and a whole new wind farm is being constructed just south of here near Wellington (the countries 2nd largest city) and will power all of Wellington and neighboring suburbs.

Yeah! a country that is into its renewable energy and actually doing something about it! I would so much rather be surrounded by Windmills than even the remotest threat of a nuclear melt down!

July 12, 2006

We are now in Wellington, a very blustery place in winter. I can understand why so many New Zealanders have dreadlocks. (Darrel and I met in Wellington while studying at Victoria University.) I went to the campus yesterday to meet with a professor. He coordinates an Ecological Restoration Masters program. I am very interested in it, but need to get to the South Island and snowboard for a few years before I am ready to go back to Uni. It is about 3.5 hours to snowboardable mountains from Welly- not quite out the back door like we had in VT.

Right now we are staying at Odie, Joel and Adam’s house. Welly is surrounded by hills and we are right up on top of one of them- great view of the city.

I just started a new knitting project (kind of like a shawl, but an annoying 1-ply yarn that is taking a bit to get used to) and Darrel is working on decorating some hats to sell while we are unemployed and rambling around the country.

Darrel and I have spent the last week getting reacquainted with New Zealand. We flew into Wellington, Sharleen (Darrel’s Sister) picked us up at the airport. We made one stop on our way to Sharleen’s house; Darrel got out of the car and took two steps before we heard someone exclaim “Darrel, what are you doing here.” It was his good friend Kate. Small world down here!

We are currently staying in New Plymouth at Darrel’s parents place. We have been walking on the beaches, exploring art galleries and gazing at the huge snow covered volcano just to the East. Darrel and I couldn’t bring our snowboards with us (they are coming with our shipment in a month or two), so it is a bit bittersweet that NZ has more snow from last weeks storm than it received for the entire 2005 winter season- and they are forecasting more to come. Despite the snowy mountain, New Plymouth is quite warm, not T-shirt weather or sunbathing on the beach, but sunny and nice for walking, biking and knitting on the deck.

As you may have guessed, our roughly laid plans are changing fast. Our dreams of owning a trustworthy diesel have been shattered and our interest in living in a city has blossomed.

Our current destination is Christchurch; we just have to get there somehow. Christchurch is the third largest city in NZ. It is on the South Island and is an hour or so from ski areas and the Southern Alps.

We are in the process of finding a car to drive south, and it is not really all that fun. The problem with cars here, especially in our price range, is that they are imported used from Japan and likely “clocked” during the import process. Also, the manuals are in Japanese and it's harder or more expensive to find parts. So we are on the lookout for a NZ new hatchback or station wagon for our Tiki Tour to the South Island. We are chillin’ in New Plymouth till we sort it all out. We hope to be in Wellington by next weekend.

We spotted a Swamp Wallaby while on a bush walk. Despite the tiny picture, we were actually quite close to him. He was munching away on ferns, and keeping an eye on us while we gawked at him for a while.
Darrel, Josie and Simon on our Bush walk, just north of Sydney.
We had brunch with some NZ relatives visiting Sydney.

Pieta and Jennifer, Darrel's Cousin and Auntie, are in the center. Deborah, Darrel's Sister is on the right.

The Three sisters from Echo Point, Blue Mountains
Start of waterfall on Canyon Trek.

Josie and Darrel on the Blue Mountains Canyon walk

June 15, 2006

Josie and I arrived safely in Sydney. Our Business class standby seats treated us well aloowing for sleep on the long flight. We slept most of our first day here and had an afternoon wander around town and the rocks district. Yesterday my sister Deborah was able to take the day off work and she took us to the Blue Mountains, very beautiful indeed!! We had lunch in katoomba (sp) and took a leisurely nature walk along the enormously high cliff tops and above a waterfall. (pics to follow) Today we awoke dreamily still a little jet-lagged and made our way into town, which is only 10mins from Deb's and Simons apartment. We found the Public Library, which has the free Wifi that I am communicating this message on right now. This afternoon I think we will do some wandering maybe see the botanical gardens? Tonight we are going out for dinner with Debs, Simon and friends. Josie is currently booking our flight to New Zealand to arrive in Wellington on Thursday the 22nd at 10:00pm ish. It is weird being back in a country where the power outlets look the same as home and have switches on them and the people are driving on the left and the water is swirling down the toilet clockwise, but yet I am somewhere foreign, the accent though familiar is slightly different aye. We have not yet seen any Koala's or Kangaroos yet, but yesterday we saw a lyer bird in the bush (like a peacock) and some colourful noisy birds.
Well better get moving back outside, it was the coldest day in Sydney yesterday and for us Vermont hardend souls it was almost balmy. There is alot to do in Sydney and it is very pedestrain friendly, fun just to walkabout.

Saying goodbye at the Burlington airport

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First day in California with Denny and Kellie at the Golden Gate Bridge

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Mojow and The Vibration Army at the Harmony Festival

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Darrel and a Totem Pole on Denny and Kellies driveway

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Reservoir near Denny and Kellies

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June 08 2006

Josie and I say sad farewells to Ted and Raechel after some shipping complications (do not use Euro-Transport International!!!!) and embarked on our Journey. Our standby United airlines tickets are all successful and we hope we may be over our bad luck. First class seats out of Burlington, Vermont treats us to a nice breakfast and comfortable ride to Chicago. Economy class from Chicago to San Francisco in the biggest plane I have ever been in, with a second floor!! We are glad to not be stuck in Chicago our only stop with no friends. Denny and Kelly, Josie’s friends from Penn State University, pick us up from the airport and take us on a “tiki”(scenic) tour of San Francisco an amazing place, where New Zealand trees grow and everything else on the planet also. Our tour checks in at the Haight district. The Haight district is a place best known for the Musicians that have lived there. Including the Greatful dead, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane. The district is alive with colourful people and stores. Very impressive “op” (thrift) stores and Sensual bling. I picture Brian Malley loving this place and it’s furry g-strings. We find a 2$ happy hour and sample local brews then head for the Coast. The Golden Gate bridge is very impressive and the winding road to the coast makes you queasy. The coast line is stunning and made me feel right at home. We drive North up the coast to our friends home not far from Santa Rosa. The drive reminds me of the importance of invasive species control and that darn “olds mans beard” (tree killing moss) Nevertheless the landscape is gorgeous, with enormous trees and rolling hills. An albino deer runs across the road in front of our car a good omen, hopefully our luck has turned.

June 09 2006

Today we head off to the Harmony festival where Denny and Kelly have stands, it is warming up and looks to be a fun day.

June 12, 2006

The Health and Harmony festival in Santa Rosa was a blast. Denny and Kelly had side by side booth’s which we used as a home base. We saw some great music the Finale with Michael Franti and spearhead was a very appropriate final act a conscious message and good vibes. Other Festival highlights include “Mojow and the Vibration Army” (see picture) a Duo consisting of a very tall red head guy with a saxophone and a music pedal strapped to each hip, a battery powered amp in a cart that dragged along behind. He was accompanied by a dancing woman the music a very repetitive beat mixed with du-wops, they traveled the fairgrounds grooving to the diners and shoppers. A culinary Showcase, an area full of free food samples, a goddess area filled with spiritual and cosmic crystals and magicians, a world bazaar area of ethnic wares, eco-village with alternative’s for living and conservation, 7or 8 stages and a lot of Fun people. Zero, Sol Horizon, Serendipity project and others rocked the stage. A lot of fun.
Today Josie and I are going for a wander through some Redwoods and then tonight we fly out for Sydney to stay with Deborah, hope I don’t get lashed with Jet lag we have some homeopathic tablets for that. The pollen has affected me pretty badly here, but homeopathies have helped a lot.

Darrel and I are back in Vermont from our trip to Colorado. We spent some days skiing (pics to come out later) and touring the land, we even took a trip to Santa Fe. It was great to catch up with family and friends.

Below: Kwali and Kiwi; Left: Darrel and I at the Denver Botanic Gardens; Below: Erin's house in Santa Fe

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Wayne and Evan on our favorite hill 1.28.2006

Today is a blustery day in the woods near Saxon Hill. The creaking of the treehouse beams awoke me early this morning. It is a little unsettling, but we have gotten used to it. All of the trees can move independently of each other. When it's windy the brackets that are attached to the trees slide along the beams supporting the treehouse, creaking and groaning as they go. The treehouse just stays in the same place.

Here are some pictures from last weekend
at the Keniston Family Christmas in Maine!

Christmas Day with New Family! For Chistmas this year Darrel, Mom, Dad and I went to Connecticut to Celebrate with Shelby, Danny, Kay, Kathleen and Tony (Danny's Grandmother, Mom and Dad). It was very festive with a TON of food.















Above: Mom showing Kay the Family Christmas stockings. Mom's is the oldest (made by Grandma Keniston when mom was a wee little girl). Mom made Kay, Danny and Kathleen stockings for the event.















Above: Shelby in her fancy school "12 Days of Christmas" assembly outfit. I think she was supposed to be a french hen, but her only relevant prop was a rubber chicken.

Below: Danny showing off his new stocking.